Australian police arrested seven teenagers in a major anti-terrorist operation on Tuesday, Australian media report. The minors are linked to a stabbing in an Assyrian Orthodox church last week. A sixteen-year-old boy wounded five people there with a knife, including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.
Emmanuel held a mass at the church in Wakely, a suburb of Sydney. The conservative bishop, nicknamed the ‘TikTok Bishop‘, has built up a loyal following through social media. He also sows division, according to the Reuters news agency, including through his statements about other faiths. The stabbing suspect was overpowered by churchgoers and arrested on suspicion of terrorism. All victims survived the incident.
Upon arrest, Australian police told local media that the boy was probably operating alone. Now the police say that the group of young people, who are said to know each other, are suspected of the attack together. The group is said to adhere to a “religiously motivated extremist ideology”. Four hundred police officers were deployed for the operation.
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